Work-from-Home (WFH) and Workplace Flexibility: Nuance is important
When I refer to WFH, I’m talking about a set schedule for days or hours regularly worked from home. Recent decisions by companies like Amazon have underscored the importance of clarity in policy, though I feel a balanced approach is essential. Clarity, yes—but with nuance, empathy, and compassion. This is especially relevant as we navigate what works best for our team.
From my perspective, regular WFH can have significant impacts:
- Productivity: Studies, including a recent report by *The Economist* (October 24), indicate productivity declines by up to 18%.
- Well-being: Remote work has shown an increase in anxiety and depression.
- Relationship Building: Strong professional relationships often take longer to form and trust-building is slower.
- Fairness in Operations: In industries like ours, where manufacturing, distribution, and service are integral, it takes a hands-on team to drive success.
- Culture: A remote setup risks eroding our company culture and the sense of shared mission. (I mean, take a look at how social media is unraveling society)
- Project Momentum: Remote work tends to decelerate project progress, impacting our agility and responsiveness.
- Human Connection: The connections that underpin understanding and empathy are difficult to replicate through screens and chat windows.
I understand these impacts firsthand, having worked from home for a period in 2023—a challenging year for our growth. Without the energy of the office and the immediate pulse of my colleagues’ work, I felt increasingly disconnected, which over time impacted both perspective and patience.
However, I believe there’s a crucial distinction between regular WFH and genuine flexibility. Flexibility in work is essential to a supportive work environment. Family obligations and personal needs happen, and supporting our team through these moments is part of our culture. Here are a few examples of the flexibility we support:
- Family Events: Kid’s game or concert? Don’t miss it.
- Health and Home: Not feeling well or taking care of family? Adjust your schedule as needed.
- Life Circumstances: From a major home repair to personal matters, we want to provide room to adapt.
- Pet-Friendly Workspaces: If bringing a pet to work helps.
- Workspace environment causing sensory issues, lets change it.
- Death in the family, be with the ones you love.
- Spouse sick and you need to cover more bases? That weekends probably not going to be a 45-55 hour week.
Family always comes first, and there will always be times that call for us to adapt. That said, when flexibility is exercised, it’s crucial to keep communication open and ensure that any necessary coverage or coordination happens so the team’s momentum stays strong. It is also important to recognize that when using flexibility it response time to digital requests is more important than ever, and the standard workday is not the usual 9-5.
In a flexible environment, a few foundational elements must be in place for success:
Trust and Communication: Staying connected and responsive is essential.
Commitment: Ensuring all bases are covered and helping others as needed.
Accountability: If we see metrics slipping, behaviors will need adjustment.
Effective communication and timely responsiveness become the cornerstone of flexible work. We may be working beyond traditional hours to meet needs, but we must all be ready to contribute, especially when teammates are covering for one another.
Some may argue that commuting detracts from the value of time. Yet, I see my commute as a vital transition period. It’s a chance to shift mindsets—from home life to work and back again. I use this time to catch up on news, industry insights, or sometimes just decompress with music. Some of my windshield time rituals:
Morning: NPR then Mo News
Evening: 1 Phone call, then HBR Idea Cast, then Zach's newest play list.
I am also of the mindset that the work-from-home will eventually phase out is the growing challenge of discerning truth in today’s digital world. With AI, algorithms, constant monitoring, and social media platforms shaping perceptions, face-to-face meetings have become crucial for truly gauging what's on target and what's not. What is true and what is not. What feels right and what does not.
Ultimately, our relationships with colleagues and managers play a major role in how flexible we can be in the workplace. I foresee that future workplace policies may even incorporate concepts like sabbaticals, which could be healthier for employee and employer than work from home. All of which will require thoughtful consideration.
Let’s continue to work together to find a balance that maintains our company’s momentum and respects everyone’s needs.
Researched used in Writing this blog:
https://www.economist.com/business/2024/10/23/are-bosses-right-to-insist-that-workers-return-to-the-office?utm_content=ed-picks-image-link-1&etear=nl_today_1&utm_campaign=r.the-economist-today&utm_medium=email.internal-newsletter.np&utm_source=salesforce-marketing-cloud&utm_term=10/24/2024&utm_id=1955331
https://www.york.ac.uk/media/economics/documents/hedg/workingpapers/2023/2303.pdf
https://bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/1/1/e000133
